For anyone new to this blog, the idea is simple - each day my boys (Joshua - 9 and Archie - 8) choose a stimulus that drives the learning. We hope that you enjoy the blog and can take some inspiration from what we love doing - making learning as engaging as possible!
Word Art
First official day of the holidays and the boys asked me if we could do a blog - got to love them! To keep it as creative and engaging as possible, we decided to use words to create word art.
We hope you enjoy!
English
Shape poetry
Word art
I have to admit, as this one was sprung on me, I did not have a lesson prepared. However, the boys instigated the theme by saying they wanted the blog to focus on word art.
We began by looking at some examples of shape poems - here are a few we admired:
The boys then chose their shape, sketched a template and brainstormed their ideas in draft. Joshua decided he wanted to write a list of adjectives that describe a gingerbread man, whilst Archie wanted to innovate the well-known rhyme "Twinkle twinkle little star". I took the opportunity to write about something that deeply fascinates me - the passing of time. Here are our poems.
Time
Time ticks away, slowly. Life ever flowing. Opportunity
turning into memory. Ambition fuelling wisdom.
The sands of time ever eroding, creating
new mountains of experience.
Each grain that falls –
a new chapter in
the great vial
of life.
Chapters
rooted in love,
in sadness, in promise,
in sin. The balance turns;
aspiration evolves into reality that
in turn evolves into reflection. Time becomes
precious. Each grain, something to savour and enjoy.
Time never slows – we do. It is nature's way of helping
us taste the joy before the final grain falls from the empty vial.
© Jamie Thomas 2020
We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading our blogs. Knowing so many of you have been tuning in and using many of the ideas we have explored has kept us motivated and inspired each and every day - so thank you! We hope to continue to post the odd blog here and there when the moment seems right. Happy holidays everyone!
My thanks to Pie Corbett, Julia Strong and the Talk for Writing team for inspiring many of the ideas explored in this blog.
This blog is copyright. All materials herein, texts and supporting resources are copyright to Jamie Thomas & Talk for Writing. They may be used to support children/staff/parents in home-learning ONLY and not for commercial gain or for training or sharing widely, in their original form or any variations. They must also not be shared online or on any social media platforms without prior permission.
This post creatively uses text art to engage kids in learning. I love how the boys chose their own themes for the poems, making the process fun and personal. The poem about time is especially thoughtful.
How do you come up with new, creative learning ideas each day to keep the boys engaged during the holidays?